We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Cooper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.
Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
Despite being a musician since age 10, when I got my first guitar, and having taken a few video editing classes in high school, I wasn’t in a career that had anything to do with either until I was 31 years old. It was January 2021, at the height of the pandemic, and I was spending 50+ hours a week operating a forklift at a warehouse job that had little to no upward mobility. I still produced music and played guitar as a hobby, and had been shooting amateur music videos for several years, but I rarely found time for either, between being at work or being worn out from work. I was at a point that I had people asking me to shoot videos for them at rates that were appealing, but I hadn’t put the time into marketing myself or truly focusing on video production to consider it as a valid option. It wasn’t until my supervisor told me I would be taking on additional responsibilities that would require longer hours(without any additional pay, of course) and if I had any issue with that then I should resign. My resignation letter was on his desk the next morning.
I would be lying if I said my decision to leave my “safe” job was well thought out, but I knew deep down it was a now-or-never kind of thing. I started making calls, watching youtube tutorials on everything from marketing and business management to cinematography and audio engineering, and made a list of every skilled or creative service I could confidently offer customers at fair prices. Before my two-weeks were served out at my job, I had booked what would have been a month’s worth of income at my old job in my first week “self-employed” shooting music videos and producing original music for other people.
That’s not to say it has been money or staying booked constantly; maintaining a steady calendar can be much more difficult than the actual work itself, but you learn the high and low seasons over time and learn what works and what doesn’t through trial and error.
If I had started sooner, I would have lacked the hunger for something better that came from working a job I hated for so long and I may or may not have been able to push myself to learn everything I had to learn, once I had enough. If I had started later, been more “practical” or tried to do it on the side, I wouldn’t have had the time or energy that it ultimately took to make it happen as an actual occupation. As cliche as it sounds, I think it all happened at the right time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have always connected very deeply with music and film, from a very young age. As a kid, I was always drawn to guitars, pianos, and any other instrument I came in contact with, as well as any gadgets, camcorders or other “movie” gear. I was 10 when my parents gave me my first acoustic guitar and signed me up for lessons. Within a few years I had branched out to playing drums, bass, piano, mandolin and various other instruments, along with recording and producing my own original music on a primitive little fostex multi-tracker. Then in high school, I jumped at the opportunity to take a video broadcasting and editing class that taught me how to work with footage and ultimately sparked an interest that would stick with me for years to come.
I played in rock bands throughout high school and for years after, then switched to solo music production in my early twenties. These years taught me about live audio engineering, recording arts, production DAWs, and the basics of the music industry. At the same time, I had purchased several decent DSLR cameras and was learning to shoot basic music videos, mostly for myself and friends, but eventually the demand grew to the point that it posed an opportunity to become self-employed and offer the skills I had learned as services to others. That’s when I was done with a dead-end job and was ready for something better, so I started Matt Coop Media LLC, then took the leap of faith and set out to work for myself.
Fast forward to now, I am currently shooting, directing and editing music videos for artists and bands, producing wedding videos for couples, creating cinematic/professional content for influencers and businesses, as well as offering original music production in nearly any genre to everyone from singers and rappers to businesses looking to use original audio and avoid the copyright and licensing issues that often come with using popular music in video.
As someone who is a musician myself, I take pride in being able to offer industry-quality music videos to anyone, whether they are signed with a major label budget or are still independent artists investing in themselves, and help them shine in the best light possible while adding a visual element to their music that is worthy of each song.
The same goes for entrepreneurs and business owners. As a business owner myself, I know the potential value available to other entrepreneurs who work hard on developing their business or craft but have never used professional or cinematic video to show off their work or business to potential customers.
As far as weddings go, it’s always great to help couples immortalize their big day by creating their very own cinematic video to look back on forever that is as elegant as the wedding itself.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think the obvious answer would be for members of society to actively look for ways to directly financially support creatives, but in the age of the internet they aren’t only limited to financial support. Share posts from artist and musician friends, recommend a small business or entrepreneurial service to someone who could benefit but might not otherwise know about them.
Add their songs to playlists and run their streams up.
Don’t assume they are “rich” or “making it” based on the appearance of their social media; encourage them when you have an opportunity to do so honestly. The same sometimes goes for constructive criticism, assuming you have rapport with the person and genuinely want to help them on their journey.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The internet and its power to generate opportunity. Obviously I KNEW about the internet before leaving my “normal” job but I drastically underestimated the potential it holds for being self-employed. Every day there are new opportunities being created that many creatives and artists don’t know of or think about. I originally thought of the internet as simply a way of communicating with potential clients to generate work, but it can be the actual end product as well; whether through digital service platforms like Fiverr to creating your own tutorials and generating advertisement revenue on YouTube. The sky is the limit and unlike any other time in history, one doesn’t even have to leave their house to profit from their knowledge and skill anymore, thanks to the internet.
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/MattCoopFilms
- Instagram: @MattCoopFilms
Image Credits
Andrew Lowry, Matt Cooper